


Fallen

by Anonymous



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Spectre Requisitions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-21
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 05:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The first thing Ashley noticed when she woke up was that her head felt as if he had been stomped on by a krogan.  That was enough of a distraction that it took longer than it should have for her to realize that it was alsofucking freezing.
Relationships: Female Shepard/Ashley Williams
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8
Collections: Spectre Requisitions 2021





	Fallen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [YourLocalPriestess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLocalPriestess/gifts).



The first thing Ashley noticed when she woke up was that her head felt as if he had been stomped on by a krogan. That was enough of a distraction that it took longer than it should have for her to realize that it was also _fucking freezing_.

What on Earth had she gotten herself into this time?

"Oh, thank God," a familiar voice said, two hands coming out of nowhere to gently probe at her aching head. "You're finally awake."

Ashley blinked a few times, trying to clear her definitely-blurrier-than-it-should-be vision as much as she could. Wherever she was, it was dark, and the only light was coming from what she was fairly certain was a helmet sitting a few feet away. Considering how her head felt, she doubted it was her helmet. There wasn't a chance in Hell it could still be in working condition after... after…

... well, after whatever had happened, since she wasn't entirely certain of the details just then.

It was hard to see much of anything, but she could just make out a blurry figuring hovering above her that had to be Shepard. Ashley was fairly certain it was stone of some kind that she felt underneath her. A cave, maybe? Or a mine? Her head was slightly elevated, and – judging by the angle that Shepard was looking down at her – she was willing to bet that it was resting in her lap.

Something had clearly gone very, very, very wrong.

"What happened?" Ashley asked. Or, at least, that's what she tried to say. It came out sounding more like a groan than anything even vaguely resembling spoken language. Ashley grit her teeth and tried again. And then again.

Finally, by the fifth time, she was fairly certain Shepard could at least figure out what she was trying to say. Except then there was a pause that was long enough for Ashley to start thinking that maybe she'd been a bit too optimistic in her vocal skills.

"What do you remember?" Shepard asked slowly. Carefully.

Ashley sighed. She immediately regretted it, as even that tiny movement was enough to send pain spiking through her head, but she still felt it was warranted. She'd had enough concussions over the years to know what that question meant.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a few slow breaths, trying to think back. What did she remember? They'd been in the Mako, her and Shepard and Garrus. There'd been some odd readings, and Shepard insisted that they check them out. And then—

"I'm going to assume we didn't manage to outrun the thresher maw?"

Shepard let out a bark of laughter, and Ashley couldn't help but smile even though Shepard's movement had sent another wave of pain spiking through her already aching head. It said a lot that she was willing to put up with it simply to hear the other woman laugh.

She didn't laugh nearly often enough, in Ashley's opinion.

"That depends on your definition of 'outrun,'" Shepard said, sounding much more relieved than she had a moment or two earlier. "We were able to make it to that cave that you noticed earlier, which got us out its range."

Ashley bit her lip as she tried to backtrack through muddled memories. "It camped out just outside the cave entrance, didn't it?" she asked slowly. "Garrus stayed in the Mako, and the two of us got out to walk around on foot and see if we could find any other way out of the cave system. And then—"

She trailed off, as her memories came to a fairly abrupt stop.

Shepard grimaced. "Apparently this planet's seismic activity has a sense of humor," she said, picking up where Ashley left off. "One second, the rocks underneath us were stable. The next thing either of us knew, we were in freefall and, well, it's a good thing that you have such a hard head."

Ashley snorted and then immediately groaned. "Don't make me laugh."

"I'm sorry," Shepard said, and she sounded genuinely apologetic which was not something Ashley was used to hearing from her. It definitely made her wonder just how worried Shepard must have been while she'd been unconscious.

Actually, that reminded her…

"How long have I been out?" Ashley asked, not entirely certain she wanted to know the answer.

There was another too-long pause.

"Shepard?" Ashley asked, narrowing her eyes.

Shepard finally let out a sigh. "It's been almost eight hours," she said. "And before you ask, no, I haven't heard anything from Garrus, the _Normandy_ , or anyone else since you went unconscious."

It was Ashley's turn to not reply for a long moment. "Well shit," she said finally. "That's not good."

"No," Shepard agreed. "No, it's not."

They both sat there in silence for a minute or two before Ashley sighed. "Help me sit up."

Ashley could practically hear Shepard rolling her eyes, even though she couldn't actually see it in the dim light.

"I'm not a doctor, but I don't think that's the best idea," Shepard said. "You slammed headfirst into a rock pillar on your way down, and you've been unconscious for almost eight hours."

Ashley couldn't help but notice that, even though she was protesting, Shepard was already shifting position so that she could help pull her up into a sitting position. It said a lot that both of them were well aware that there wasn't any real point in arguing.

The world went grey for a second or two once she was actually sitting up on her own, but Shepard was nice enough not to say anything. What was there to say, after all?

Once her vision had cleared up enough for her to at least see a little bit again, Ashley let her gaze drift around them. From what she could tell, they were at the bottom of a crevasse of some kind. She could see a hint of light far above them, presumably coming from the main cave shaft that they'd been exploring – there'd been some type of weird glowing moss in it, if she was remembering correctly – but it was way too high for them to get out on their own.

"It's fucking cold in here," Ashley said, frowning. "It wasn't this cold up on the surface, was it?"

Shepard smiled. "No, it was," she said. "We weren't exposed to it for eight hours straight up there, though. Most of the time, we were in the Mako." She paused. "Also, we were wearing helmets. That probably helped."

Ashley sighed. "Great," she muttered, leaning back against the cold stone behind her. "Just what I wanted to hear."

Beside her, Shepard chuckled. "Lean against me if you're cold," she said. "I can only do it in bursts, but I can overclock some of my suit's systems long enough to give us a little bit of extra heat."

Immediately, Ashley leaned closer to Shepard. "This is why I love you," she said. "You have the best ideas."

She regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of her mouth, well aware that whatever it was between them was complicated at best. Beside her, Shepard went still for a long moment before leaning closer herself and pressing a quick kiss on Ashley's lips.

"It won't last for long," she said as she pulled away, and for the life of her Ashley wasn't entirely certain if she was talking about the heat or something else entirely. "We'll have to enjoy it while we can."

Ashley wasn't particularly surprised when Shepard's gloved hand found hers a moment later. It was hard to hold hands while in their suits, their fingers made slightly clumsy by the material covering them, but they made do.

Still, it was enough. That's all that mattered.


End file.
